How to Stop Overeating During the Holidays

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In just a few days the holidays will be kicking off…and this means a LOT of food everywhere for most of us. Whether it’s turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, cookies, cake, or whatever your holiday favorites may be, there’s a reason why everybody starts looking for ways to lose weight after the holidays and for the New Year – we eat too much constantly for almost a month and a half!

Now, I’m not saying you need to completely deprive yourself – but you’ve got to be careful, or you could easily start consuming an extra few thousand calories every time you go to a party!

If you want to try to lose or maintain weight during the holidays seasons and avoid over eating, here’s some tips:

Avoid Alcohol: I stopped drinking completely a few years ago when I started having kids. There’s a lot of empty calories in alcoholic beverages, and unfortunately many people have a hard time stopping at just one drink. So what I do is just avoid it all together.

Eat a Little of Everything: I can understand wanting to try a little bit of everything – but the key here is a “little”.  Take bite sized portions of everything. Want a piece of pie? That’s fine, but eat about 1/3 of a slice instead of a giant slice and skip the whipped cream (oh, okay, have about a 1/2 teaspoon of it!) By controlling the amount you eat you can still indulge a little without worrying about all the extra fat and calories.

Don’t Go Anywhere Hungry: If you’re hungry, it’s going to be very hard to resist the urge to eat just about everything in site and eat more than what is actually necessary.  Before going to a dinner party for example, have a very light dinner to help take some of the edge off before you get there.

Say No:  When I was a kid, my grandma was world renowned for making us eat, even when you couldn’t even move from eating so much. “Eat, Eat, Eat!” While it’s hard to tell someone you can’t possibly eat anymore, you can do it – just explain you’re leaving room for dessert or that it was so delicious, maybe you could take a little bit home with you.

Don’t Hang Out Where the Food Is: If you stand near a buffet table or sit in front of a plate of veggies, chances are you are going to just munch away without even realizing it. Make it a point to sit as far away as possible from all those foods so you’re not tempted to just snack away.

Chew Sugar Free Gum: When you feel full, have a stick of sugar free gum. Having something in your mouth will help you resist the urge to eat anything else.

Exercise: With so much temptation and great foods, the most important thing is to make sure you stick to your regular exercise routine. You may even want to try to adding in an extra day to workout or while hanging out at holiday gatherings get others around you involved in something that can help you burn calories – such as cleaning up the dishes, going for a walk, a game of family football, or getting the family to play Wii or something of the sort.

Don’t Give Up: If you do slip up, don’t get upset about it – just resolve to do better and get right back on track. One day of overeating isn’t going to ruin you for good – but if you do it everyday for a month it’s going to be harder to get back on track.

Have a great holiday!